A man, who has a pending murder case, was jailed for 21 days and fined Lm400 for breaching bail conditions.

The Magistrates' Court originally jailed Josef Grech for eight months and fined him Lm500 for breaching bail on various occasions but Mr Grech appealed the ruling.

Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono, sitting in the Court of Criminal Appeal, heard how Mr Grech had been charged with the murder of Patricia Attard, who was shot dead in a mini van in Ta' Qali, on February 13, 2004.

In December that year he had been granted bail on condition he did not leave his home without court permission and was bound by a Lm10,000 deposit and a personal guarantee of Lm20,000. He was eventual charged with breaching bail conditions for being outdoors on several occasions and was found guilty by the Magistrates' Court.

In his appeal, Mr Grech claimed that he had only left his house once and this was an emergency as he had to pick up his seven-year-old son from his aunt at Bahar Ic-Caghaq because he was crying and wanted to go home. Mr Grech insisted that, that day, through a series of coincidences, there was no one other than himself who could collect the child. On evaluating the evidence, Mr Justice Galea Debono ruled that this had not been an emergency as Mr Grech could have taken other measures to ensure his son got home. He found Mr Grech to be in breach of bail.

As for the other occasions, the prosecution had not sufficiently proven that Mr Grech had been outdoors. Given the fact that the judge was finding him guilty of breaching bail on one occasion (rather than several), there was room for a reduction in punishment. For this reason, the court reduced the eight-month jail term to 21 days and the Lm500 fine to Lm400.

The judge moted that the prosecution and the defence had agreed that since the first ruling (in December 2004) whereby Mr Grech had been granted bail there had been other rulings altering the bail terms (allowing Mr Grech to go outdoors on limited occasions). However, these rulings had not been exhibited in the bail sittings against the accused.

Mr Justice Galea Debono recommended that bail sittings be presided over by the magistrate who was hearing the compilation of evidence when possible as this would avoid difficulties at a later stage. If this were not possible, he recommended that the prosecution officers keep a file with a copy of updated rulings with regard to bail.